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Live Review: Justin Timberlake iTunes Festival

By
Stratitude1

30 Sep 2013

Event Date
29 Sep 2013

There is no denying that as well as being one handsome s.o.b JT is very good at what he does...

Despite shimmying our way around some dance floors in the mid-noughties, we’d hardly describe ourselves as huge Justin Timberlake fans. So as we headed our way to up to The London Roundhouse for the penultimate gig of the iTunes Festival, we weren’t fully sure what to expect.

But we have to say: we left the building on the back of a bloody enjoyable night. After witnessing this 12 track masterpiece, there's no denying that as well as being one handsome S.O.B., JT is extremely good at what he does!

Sporting a slick suit and trilby combo, he owned the stage with a nonchalance from the first staccato chord of new track ‘Only When I Walk Away’. Though we were intigued by the new material, we were worried it might be a sign of things to come, then he brought ‘SEXY BACK’.

‘Like I Love You’ was followed by ‘My Love’ then straight into ‘Cry Me A River’; you soon realise just how familiar you are with JT's back catalogue, and maybe how much of it you... LIKE.

Unfortunately for us blokes, JT isn’t just a pretty face: he smashed out some pretty slick dance moves throughout, showcased his guitar skills on ‘Like I Love You’, and jumped right up on the piano for ‘Senorita’ - Bastard, right? If that wasn’t enough he charmed us with a spot of "I love London/You guys are the greatest." He seemed genuine, we are the greatest (probably/maybe).

He was helped along the way by a backing band of 4 singers & 3 percussionists, all of which got fully involved, adding to the feel good night.

Some other highlights of the night included an instrumental and sing-a-long from Justin to Jay-Z & Kanye’s ‘N*ggas in Paris’. One particular highlight was Justin engaging with the audience and getting the guys & girls to sing their own parts on ‘Senorita’: “It feels like something’s heating up, can I leave with you?" A line that echoes across Britain on most Friday nights...

The noise-o-meter definitely peaked in the final track of the night, and most recent single; ‘Mirrors’ which you can hear below.

It’s also been announced today that JT is embarking on his 20/20 World Tour. So guys if you want to score points with the girlfriends we’d definitely recommend booking him up... and girls, although he’s now married, the eye candy is still there (man crush) and the talent is certainly not lacking!

Our only grumbles of the night was the outrageous amount of smart phones present in the crowd, sure we got our token snaps, but you’re there to watch a gig not to film one! Live the moment people. Carpe Diem.

Finally the iTunes Festival ends today after such a huge month of free gigs, great work guys! If you’ve managed to catch any of the huge names (Elton, Arctic Monkeys, Pixies, JT or Katy Perry tonight) at the excellent North London venue you should count yourself very fortunate!

Full Set-List:

Only When I Walk Away

SexyBack

True Blood

Like I Love You

My Love

Cry Me A River

TKO

Senorita

Rock Your Body

Take Back The Night

Suit & Tie

Mirrors

For those unable to attend in person, all iTunes Festival performances will be streamed live to millions of fans in over 100 countries via the iTunes Festival app, on the iTunes Store and with Apple TV so music fans can watch live on their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC and HD TV. The shows are also available to stream on repeat for a limited time. Check out iTunes for more details.